Description

656-1/30/1380

RIVERS STREET (North side)
No.6 Walcot Rectory and attached railings

(Formerly Listed as: RIVERS STREET (North side) Nos.1-15 (Consecutive))

12/06/50

GV
II
House, now Walcot Rectory. 1770-1775 with C19 and C20 alterations. By John Wood the Younger.

MATERIALS: limestone ashlar to front, ashlar and rubble to rear, double pile parapeted mansard roof, Welsh slate to front and rear, with coped party wall with two ashlar stacks to right.

EXTERIOR: Nos. 5, 6 and 7 Rivers Street (qv) break forward slightly from adjoining houses to form front to north side of Catharine Place. Three storeys, attic and basement. First floor has Venetian window with plate glass horned sashes in plain reveals with lowered continuous stone sill, continuous wrought iron balconette, C19 timber blind boxes. Second floor has three grouped plate glass horned sashes, narrower to left and right, in plain reveals with continuous stone sill, C19 timber blind boxes. Ground floor has to right two similar paired sashes in plain reveals with continuous stone sill, simple balconette and C19 timber blind boxes, to left six-panel door with flush reeded, fielded and single glazed panel with one pennant step in pedimented Doric doorcase, two steps to pennant paved crossover with cast iron foot-scraper. Basement has two six/six-sashes in plain reveals with continuous stone sill with plank door in ashlar infilling under crossover.

Limestone area steps with wrought iron handrail. Double dormer with plate glass sashes. Band course over ground floor and modillion cornice and coped parapet continuous with Nos. 5 and 7 Rivers Street (qv).

Rear elevation has plate glass horned sashes, cantilevered lavatory extension to second half-landing.

INTERIOR: ground floor front: C19 fireplace probably stone, blocked with tiling and gas fire. Dado-panelling, six-panel ovolo moulded doors with hollow architraves to hall and rear room, ovolo shutters etc. Cornice as back, enriched with swag frieze.
Hall: enriched cornice with swags and enriched hall arch. Nine-pane back door with iron plates below in big ovolo architrave, iron straps to six-panel door in early back extension. Timber basement staircase, stick baluster grip handrail, stone flagged hall.

Ground floor rear: kitchen. No fireplace. Six-panel doors with hollow architraves. Half shutters only. Enriched cornice with swag frieze. Staircase: closed string with top balustrade, mahogany grip handrail, balusters to first flight to second floor smaller. Enriched cornice to first landing, run cornice to first half landing.

First floor front: Sienna marble fireplace with reeded surround, tiled insert with gas fire, hollow architraves to six-panel ovolo moulded doors, pair eight-panel doors, ovolo moulded shutters. Skirting deeply moulded top. No cornice.

First floor rear: stone/timber fireplace double hollow architrave, timber shelf, gas fire, chimney breast cupboard to left ovolo moulded six-panel with hollow architrave, to right C19 dumb waiter, ovolo moulded soffit and panel below window, shutters gone. Six-panel ovolo moulded door, architrave C20, No cornice.

Second floor front: one large room, stone beaded and stepped surround with timber hollow architrave, later timber shelf, tiled hearth and opening with gas fire. Unmoulded six-panel doors in cyma architraves to room, chimney breast cupboard and communicating door between rooms, except door of chimney breast cupboard to right which has ovolo moulded panels and later cyma architrave. Unmoulded panels to shutters, soffit and panel below windows. Three-panel door to cupboard under attic staircase has H hinges and attached section of skirting, later architrave. No cornice.

Second floor rear: fireplace as front, three-panel cupboard without skirting as front, shutters with slightly splayed reveal as front, No cornice. Second half landing: C19 closed string balustrade, turned balusters, softwood handrail to top flight. Reeded/roundel architrave to three-pane window over door, four-panel with C19 moulding in similar architrave, to loo off.

Top floor: unmoulded four-panel doors, C19 and C20 architraves. No fireplaces. Small stone surround opening blocked C20 shelf in front left. Winder attic staircase with C19 balustrade.

Basement: rear room (chapel), No fireplace. Three-panel chimney breast cupboards with pegs in hall, cyma architraves, unmoulded shutters in splayed reveal to window, small four-pane window has lead or zinc? basin -(thin) in shelf below.

Front: one T-arched range arch partially blocked to right, probable former opening to left. Range of cupboards to far end with arched opening, complete dresser, fat ovolo architrave to door to area. Shutters to windows. Stone floor. Drop handle and spring latch to door to basement. Raised tiled floor to rear area but all joinery fits inside.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: Attached wrought iron railings and gate with shaped heads on limestone bases.

HISTORY: Rivers Street was developed by John Wood the Younger on three parcels of land: Nos. 1-11 constructed in conjunction with Catharine Place on ground conveyed on perpetual leasehold from Sir Benet Garrard to Wood and Brock as his trustee 19/20 December 1766. Nos. 16-28 and 36-47 Rivers Street with areas behind Nos. 46 and 47 on ground conveyed from Rivers Estate (owned by Sir Peter Rivers Gay) to Wood 5 March 1768 for 99 years. Nos. 28-35 Rivers Street were constructed in conjunction with Russell Street on ground bought by John Wood and Andrew Sproule as his trustee from Thomas and Daniel Omer 30 December 1768 on perpetual freehold rents. Strip of ground on which Nos 12-15 and 48-50 Rivers Street constructed probably never acquired by Wood. Sites of Nos. 12-15 were conveyed from Rivers Estate to Thomas and James Beale on 30 December 1774 and 16 October 1776 on perpetual freehold rents.

A number of different Bath builders were responsible for implementing Wood's overall design, re Ison.

SOURCES: Building leases and rate books; Walter Ison, The Georgian Buildings of Bath (2nd ed. 1980), 233.

Listing NGR: ST7466165480

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26673716

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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